A popular pub landlord is all heart after digging into his own pocket to install a life-saving defibrillator.
Wesley Birch, who runs the Ship Inn at Brimscombe, wanted to show his appreciation to the community who have flocked to the 18th century pub, which he took over in July.
Wesley said: “The community have been really supportive and welcomed us as a family, so we wanted to do something for the community to thank them and we noted that the nearest defibrillator is 10 minutes in every each way, which by all accounts – if you drop down and your heart stops – you are dead after 10 minutes, so we thought we would get one in Brimscombe as a nice way of thanking everyone for being so supportive.”
Behind the bar, Wesley has been delighted with progress after opening in the middle of the pandemic: “The locals have been really supportive during our near nine months and it has exceeded our expectations.
“A pub is owned by the community and I wanted to make sure we reminded people that this is a community pub and we enjoy having people here and keeping them healthy and alive.”
The pub stands on the Brimscombe Hill road, alongside the route of the Thames & Severn Canal. It was bought by Stroud District Council in February 2017 as part of de-risking the redevelopment of Brimscombe Port and the Cotswold Canals Connected restoration.
